The Path To The Promised Land Series
by Casey Crystal
Summary: my worst story yet: AVALANCHE goes looking for the Promised Land
1. chapter 1

I consider this one of my worst stories, but I'm posting it because....actally I don't know why. This didn't turn out the way I wanted and the ending kinda sucks. Oh well, read it at your own risk.   
  
(please keep in mind I have no idea how Cloud knew how to get to the Promised Land after they killed Sephiroth, so I made that "tiny" little detail up)  
  
  
Path To The Promised Land (part 1/3)  
  
Cloud hacked through a large vine bush and stood back to rest.  
  
"How much longer?" whined Yuffie from somewhere behind him. Cloud felt too tired to say anything and was relieved when Barret started yelling at her.  
  
"How the **** would any of us know? Where's yer paitence?" he shouted but Yuffie didn't reply. in fact, she jumped back a bit down the small pathway that they had already created.  
  
"Here." said Tifa as she handed Cloud a bottle of water. Though they didn't have much water left to spare, Cloud looked exhasted from both the heat and the cutting.  
  
Cloud slowly accepted the bottle and couldn't help but smile. Out of everyone in the group, Tifa was the one who played mother hen, watching to make sure everyone's alright.  
  
Yuffie started her whining again. "Are we gonna get to the promised land at all this year because I for one am not willing to stand around in the heat all day!" Barret popped a bullet into his gun-arm and Yuffie stepped back a few more steps.  
  
"Yuffie, in order to get to the Promised Land, you need paitence." explained Red. "We're only about halfway done. Cloud said that we need to pass through all elements; land, air, fire and water. We've done air, that was in the Highwind, and we're nearly done land, I hope."  
  
"Fire?" asked Yuffie. "I ain't going through no fire."  
  
"The exit's right behind you." smirked Cloud as he motioned to the way they came. "Go right ahead and face those monsters by yourself if you wish."  
  
Yuffie paused. Those monsters back there were incredibly strong. For a while it seemed like they weren't going to survive.  
  
"I-I think I'll keep going, to protect you guys from any danger. If I weren't around who knows what kind of trouble you'd get into." said Yuffie.  
  
Cloud nodded knowingly and picked up his sword. Although he'd never admit it, Yuffie was right. They'll never get anywhere by just sitting there.  
  
After a few minutes, Cloud thought he saw something fall right in front of him. He cut a bit more, and he found a shredded piece of blue material with some blood on it.  
  
"What is it?" asked Tifa. Cloud felt the material. It seemed familar. He turned it over and it was the logo of Shinra.  
  
"They were here." he said.  
  
"Who?" asked Reeve, who decided to come instead of Cait Sith for once.  
  
"Shinra." muttered Cloud  
  
Cid and Barret swore in unison and everyone felt sick to their stomachs.  
  
"But how?" asked Tifa "They didn't know where the Promised Land was. That's why they kept searching for it. That's why they kept chasing after the Cetras until they killed them all. That's why Aeris is dead."  
  
Cloud threw the cloth down on the ground and looked to the sky. They had known Aeris for such a short period of time, but she left a large impact on them. She gave her life, without any thought about her safety, to stop Sephiroth.  
  
"They must have found it by accident." said Vincent "And had just forgotten where to go afterwards."  
  
"There's blood on it." said Tifa "Maybe some monster caught a Shinra member and just dragged him or her out here."  
  
"I don't like either suggest'ns." muttered Barret.  
  
"Me neither, but that's not going to stop us." said Cloud as he raised his sword, hacking away with anger leading him on. Why a member of Shinra was here, he was sure that he's not going to like the reason why, finding it out or not.  
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Two days later......  
  
Cloud lightly pushed the sword against the vine, feeling near exhastion, when it suddenly broke open, abd he fell to the ground in surprise.  
  
"We made it through!" cheered Reeve as Tifa helped Cloud up and into the open. It was night time, and the air was refreshing and cool.  
  
Red looked around after they had all piled out. "Now what about the water or fire?"  
  
"I wish you hadn't asked." said Cid as he pointed to their left. They gasped at the site. Lava was gushing out of the ground like geysers, postitioned everywhere and shooting the lava in almost every direction.  
  
"Beautiful." sighed Yuffie.  
  
"Yeah," said Barret sarcastically. "For scalding hot liquid that would burn right down to yer bone if the smallest drop hit ya."  
  
Yuffie hesitated and looked back into the tunnel they just carved out, almost as if she'd prefer those monsters to the lava. Barret laughed and turned to Cloud.  
  
"How the **** are we supposed to go there?" he whispered. "What is going to get us through?"  
  
Cloud took another sip of his water bottle and glanced at the geysers. "By luck" he said.  
  
Barret frowned. It was obvious the only thing they could do is run for their lives in between the geysers, looking for gaps between the lava.  
  
"Hey look what I found!" called out Tifa. She found a diary of some sort and opened it up. After reading a few pages, her face went pale.  
  
"What is it?" asked Red.  
  
Tifa read out loud. "One entry says 'Today is both a happy and sad day: My wife Infalnia has given birth to a little girl, but I am not there to help her celebrate. I am on my way home from the most amazing journey. We had just gotten through the fire pit and now are sitting outside the vineyard, which has overgrown since last time. I will be home within a week or two and will be able to join my wonderful family, with whom I will be spending a beautiful future with.'"  
  
"His wife, Infalnia?" asked Vincent. Tifa nodded and her words came out, choked.  
  
"This is Prof. Gast.......Aeris's father!" she said. She flipped through a few pages. "something happened during his last entry." she said, holding it up so that everyone else could see. "Right here, where the writing stops in mid-sentence. The pen had slipped off track. Look, there's blood on it too!"  
  
"I think both Vincent and Tifa were both right." said Red. "I think they did find their way here and a monster of some sort had attacked them."  
  
"Anyone else beginning to hate this trip as much as me?" asked Yuffie. Reeve nodded.  
  
"Well," said Cloud. "Let's not get settled down. We're still on this journey. Now let's mosey."  
  
Cid swore but grinned. "I thought I told you way back there in the North Crater to stop sayin' it like a wuss!"  
  
Cloud shrugged.  
  
"I'm not going through that lava!" declared Yuffie.  
  
"Suits me." said Cloud as he and everyone else but her began heading to the geysers.  
  
"Hey wait!" shouted Yuffie as she ran to catch up.  
  
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They followed Cid and Cloud through the geysers nearly unhurt. Cid and Cloud were chosen to be the leaders because of their abilities to make quick strategies, Cid learning it from years of piloting, and Cloud from his training in SOLDIER.  
  
Suddenly Tifa was splashed in the arm and screamed in agony. Yuffie pulled out a heal materia and used it but for some reason, it wasn't at it's full standards.  
  
"It's broken!" shouted Yuffie as they were still running.  
  
"Something must be around that affects the materia." decided Reeve from behind Yuffie. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Yes, I will be." said Tifa "The materia helped a lot. Thanks Yuffie."  
  
"This trip is getting worse and worse." muttered Yuffie.  
  
"Remind me to fire our travel agent." smirked Cloud.  
  
Tifa smiled weakly and held her arm protectively. She had lied that her arm was alright but she couldn't stop the group now. Her arm wasn't as bad as before but it still stung. She'd just have to wait until they were out of the fire.  
  
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They reached the end of the geysers and had all lain down on the ground.  
  
Cid rolled over onto his back and stared at the sky. Ever since the vineyard, he'd noticed that there was no sun nor moon, just the darkness and the stars. What he wouldn't give right now to be into outer space again. Where on the planet had the path led them anyhow?  
  
He sat up and looked around. The group had settled down in their own spots to get some privacy. Another thing Cid noticed was that they had finished three of the elements, earth, air, and fire, but where was the water? Even though there was no sun, he could see almost perfectly in the cool night. There was no lake, no river, pond, or even the smallest puddle.  
  
Before he even finished that very thought he noticed that they started sinking into the ground.  
  
What the... he thought. The ground was as steady and trustworthy as his good old Tiny Bronco a minute ago. Well, before it was shot and became a sea plane. But now wasn't the time to think about the Tiny Bronco, he was sinking!  
  
He watched in horror as Barret, Yuffie, Reeve, and Red went under.  
  
"Cloud?" he called out but got no reply.  
  
"Cid?" shouted Tifa. "What's happening? Where's Cloud?"  
  
"I can't see him Teef.." said Cid then he found himself under, swearing a blue streak. Tifa began panicking even more. She was up to her waist and her arm was stuck. She tried to pull it out, but it pulled her down. She screamed and was plunged under.  
  
  
To be continued. (go to chapter 2) 


	2. chapter 2

Path To The Promised Land (Part 2/3)  
  
  
  
Tifa felt like she had just woken up. Where was she?  
  
Sinking...  
  
Where am I? she thought, and tried to open her eyes. They were too heavy to move.  
  
I can't see! she thought.  
  
She finally thrust her eyes open and tried to see as best as possible. She seemed to be floating or sinking, in a light blue atmospere. Ahead of her was Cloud, appearing lifeless.  
  
She suddenly realised she wasn't breathing and tried to gasp for air. Instead of breathing air when she opened her mouth, the soft, cool liquid around her poured into her mouth and she tried to spit it out but found herself helpless.  
  
I am in the lifestream....she realised. Again?  
  
She panicked again, trying to swim upwards, moving akwardly and quickly. Cloud lifted his head and looked at her calmly. Tifa tried to gasp. No, not again! Not back into the lifestream.  
  
"Calm down." came Cloud's voice from somewhere. His mouth didn't move when he said those words. He slowly drifted towards her and reached for her hands. She panicked more. It must be a nightmare.  
  
"Help me, Cloud!" she heard her voice say. Her hand pulled out of Cloud's grasp and covered her mouth. She didn't say that, did she?  
  
His voice reached her ears again, though she didn't see him speak them. "It's alright. You don't need to breath in here. The lifestream won't hurt us."  
  
Cid swam upwards from somewhere. "Y'know," she heard his voice say "This old man still has some life left! I can swim around as if I were young again."  
  
Tifa smiled and heard her voice laugh. Obviously you don't have to breathe or talk in the lifestream. It does it for you.  
  
"Whers are the others?" she asked.  
  
Cid motioned to below them and Tifa looked down. She could make out their tiny figures.  
  
"I guess this is the water part." said Cloud "Let's hope there's nothing here to fight."  
  
Cid and Tifa agreed. They had enough fighting to last for a few months but somehow they knew there was more to come. This isn't like any of the adventures they've gone on before. They're looking for the actual Promised Land! Cloud has said that he had visions about where to go after they had killed Sephiroth.  
  
The three looked down at the others then swan down to see them.  
  
"Isn't this amazing?" they heard Yuffie's voice say. "The lifestream itself! It's so beautiful here. I want to stay here forever!"  
  
"It is rather intriging." agreed Red. "But I can't shake the feeling that it's not going to be this simple for the rest of the trip."  
  
"Well," said Barret "I for one am ready for some major butt kicking." He waved his gun-arm around proudly.  
  
"I wonder what the Promised Land will be like." sighed Reeve, obviously wondering if the whole trip was worth it. He wasn't used to the adventurous life.  
  
"Will we be able to just walk right in?" asked Vincent "I think it may seem to easy for something so great as the Promised Land."  
  
"I don't know." admitted Cloud "I only saw how to get this far. The only thing leading us right now is luck."  
  
"So you mean we'll be wandering around blindly?" asked Barret. Cloud nodded and looked down. The bottom was only less than 100 feet down. At the very bottom was a place where the lifestream parted and formed a little tunnel.  
  
"Look," he said. "There's a pathway down there. I guess we go in there."  
  
They agreed and swam down to the tunnel.  
  
Cloud was the first to reach the tunnel. He landed right beside it and examined it. There was nothing protecting the tunnel. The lifestream just stopped and formed the tunnel itself. Cloud pushed his hand through and felt nothing. When he was sure it was safe, he walked in and found himself needing to breathe again.  
  
Tifa joined him quickly and looked around. There was floral of all shapes, sizes, and colors everywhere in the lifestream. When the whole party was together, they started advancing down the tunnel.  
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They had walked for hours. Often when someone got too tired, they'd walk outside the tunnel in the lifestream but mostly stuck inside. It wouldn't be there if it wasn't neccessary.  
  
"I'm tired." complained Yuffie.  
  
"Hold it." said Cloud as he halted. Above them was a place where the tunnel widened and widened until it looked like the top half of a sphere. On the oppsosite end of them was large chuck of rock with a large hole to exit the tunnel. In front of the rock, a beautiful woman stood on guard.  
  
"Stop." commanded the woman when they where in the larger part of the tunnel. "What business do you have here?"  
  
"We came to enter the Promised Land." answered Cloud. The woman looked at him softly.  
  
"Your blood..." she said to him.  
  
"I was injected with Jenova cells." said Cloud "How can you tell?"  
  
"I can always tell who carries my blood." she said and everyone gasped.  
  
"J...Jenova?" asked Tifa nervously and Jenova nodded.  
  
"Don't be afraid, dear." smiled Jenova. "I am not as evil as the Jenova you heard about. Many years ago, some of your people found their way here. They took many of our people away, and tried to bring me also. I got away, but they had gotten some of my blood. Apparently when they went back to their land, they injected it into a woman's body who was given the identity Jenova. This woman started believing she was a cetra and became angered at our history, that the humans had taken the land away."  
  
"How do you know all of this?" asked Barret.  
  
"The lifestream tells stories." Jenova replied. "Listen with your heart, you'll hear them."  
  
"Oh yeah?" asked Barret "Give me some proof."  
  
"You have a daughter, a very optimistic and proud young lady. You trusted her to a woman named Elmyra, who took her in as her own daughter. Tifa lost her father to a Shinra member, a monster manipulated by the belief he was my son, Cid loves space travel, Yuffie loves materia, Cloud used to work for Shinra until he had gotten himself thrown out, Vincent was experimented on by Hojo.."  
  
"Stop!" said Barret "You've proven your point."  
  
"I'm glad." smiled Jenova "But I cannot let you pass."  
  
"What?" exclaimed Yuffie "We came all this way and find out you won't let us in?"  
  
"No sweetie," smirked Jenova as she cast a spell on them and they found themselves slowly falling asleep "You just need to pass through examination."  
  
Barret swore angrily as Tifa fell to the ground watching Jenova. After all they went though, they learned that they had come to hate the woman who impersonated Jenova. The original was pretty much the same as Aeris. Then everything faded and Tifa was asleep. 


	3. chapter 3

Path To The Promised Land (part 3/3)  
  
  
  
They awoke much later and found themselves in some sort of cell. After checking themselves to see if they were alright (and Yuffie checked to make sure she had all her materia) they soon discovered Cloud was missing.  
  
"Where do you think they took him?" asked Reeve.  
  
"I don't know." said Red. Jenova mentioned something about an examination. I'm willing to guess that that's where he is."  
  
Cid examined the wall of the cell they were in. It was made out of the same material that the homes were back at the Forgotten City. There was no opening, but the glow of the wall gave the perfect amount of light.  
  
"Do you think we're in the Promised Land?" asked Tifa. She was sitting on the ground hugging her knees.  
  
"The %*&# would I know?" asked Barret.  
  
"I wonder what's happening to Cloud." said Vincent.  
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Cloud stood in the center of a large room. All around him were people seated at strange looking desks. Each person wore a robe of ivory coloring and looked over at him with curiousity.  
  
"Tell us about this company of yours." commanded a voice.  
  
"It wasn't mine." repeated Cloud, wishing they would understand that. "I only worked for it until they threw me out. They had injected people with Jenova cells, gave mako infusions, experimented on people.."  
  
"Jenova cells." said another person as she exchanged troubled looks with the man who sat next to her, then back at Cloud. "Do you carry these cells yourself?"  
  
"Yes." said Cloud and several people whispered to each other. "Jenova already noticed that."  
  
"Why do you think you should be able to enter the Promised Land?" questioned another.  
  
"What, do you people control the Land?" asked Cloud "Why are you asking all of these questions?"  
  
"We monitor the entrances to our Land." answered the man who asked the previous question "We began this soon after your company took much life from here."  
  
"It's not my company." said Cloud through his teeth, but he calmed down "In fact, my friends and I brought them down after kicking Sephiroth's butt and stopped meteor. What other reasons do you need to let us in?"  
  
"We don't judge people by how many good things they've done, only by their heart." smiled a young woman. "Besides, only people with good hearts and strong mind are allowed in. In fact, many people who die show up here afterwards."  
  
"Well, I find that kind of hard to believe that it's possible to look at somebody's heart." said Cloud.  
  
The same woman laughed. "Not for us. We have been watching your heart ever since you were first brought before us. We know your thoughts revolve around a certain female friend of yours."  
  
"I don't know what your talking about."  
  
"Of course you do. You're thinking about her right now. You've always thought about her, hoping to impress her, earn her love."  
  
"No I don't." defended Cloud but he felt his face beam bright red.  
  
The woman smiled at him.  
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Tifa looked up as the wall seemed to make a moving noise. Suddenly a door opened up where there was no sign of one before, and Cloud walked in.  
  
"Cloud!" said everyone in unison.  
  
"Hey." said Cloud.  
  
"What did they do to you?" asked Reeve.  
  
"Questions." said Cloud "They asked me way too many questions."  
  
"Like what?" asked Cid.  
  
"About all of us, what our history is, personality, the works." said Cloud.  
  
"And you told them?" asked Yuffie.  
  
"Why wouldn't I? They could tell anyways. They told me what I was thinking." admitted Cloud.  
  
"What were you thinking of?" asked Cid.  
  
Cloud paused. "Jus' some things I was wondering about the questions."  
  
The door opened again and the same woman who told Cloud of his thoughts stepped in.  
  
"I'm sorry." she said "But it's time for another one of you. Miss Lockheart?" Tifa stepped up and they started walking down the hallway together. Cloud could hear them talking as the door closed."Hi my name is Diera.."  
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Finally everyone had gone through the examination, and they were so sick of it they were ready to turn back and face the shambles of the world they tried to leave behind. It wasn't getting much better ever since the destruction of Shinra. In some ways, it was getting worse. Cities fought for control over the others, many close people were dead, including Aeris, and they couldn't get over the memories.  
  
Eventually they were all brought into the large room. Even though none of them would admit it, they felt a lot safer when everyone else was there.  
  
"Even after all the questions, we still haven't come to a conclusion. In some ways, you are more than welcome to enter, but in other ways, we feel we should turn you away. Maybe there isn't something we haven't covered. Is there anyway you can prove you can stay here? Is there anyone who can speak for you?" said Diera.  
  
"I'm afraid the only ones who can speak for us are ourselves." said Red sadly. They put all their hopes on being able to start new lives. Tifa lowered her head and wiped a tear away. They were going to be tossed away. What kind of 'Promised Land' was this?  
  
Diera nodded sympathetically. "Then I'm afraid you won't be allowed to.."  
  
"Wait!" called a voice from the entrance. All eyes averted to this sudden distraction.  
  
A female figure stepped in, wearing the same ivory robe as Diera and the others but the hood was up and her face hidden.  
  
"I can speak for them." she said "These people are more than qualified than ever to enter our land. Can't you see it? They've all got great hearts, no matter how deeply they try to hide them."  
  
"Very well." smiled Diera. "You people are allowed in. Welcome to your new home."  
  
The group cheered as Diera left with the others but the strange woman still stood in her spot. Cloud gave Tifa a hug so strong he could've given Barret a lesson or two. After a while, they quieted down and faced this stranger who hanged their lives.  
  
"Thank you," said Cloud "What is your name?"  
  
They could see her smiling at them. Slowly she pulled her hood down and they found themselves looking into the face of a beloved old friend.  
  
"Aeris?" asked Tifa and Aeris nodded, a tear of happiness running down her cheek.  
  
"Welcome home." she said.  
  
THE END 


End file.
